AS Ally McCoist finally departs the Rangers payroll the talk among the fans has centred on his legacy.

The fact that there is even discussion about the club’s record goalscorer is a reflection on the damage done to his reputation over the past few years.

Ally can be forgiven for being a poor football manager, just as John Greig was before him.

While the football was turgid, the signings poor and the fitness looked suspect from the stand, he was simply a guy in a job that was beyond his capabilities. There’s no shame in that, many of us have been there and can reflect on experiences that made us stronger.

Where it becomes murky is around money.

He was appointed on his 825k cast-iron rolling contract by Martin Bain during the discussions for Craig Whyte’s takeover. The deal meant that even if Whyte had come in with good fiscal intentions, he was stuck with a hugely-expensive manager that would prove difficult to shift.

At a time when the Celtic boss’ salary was cut to less than half of that figure, it’s a lasting testament to the madness still going on at Rangers into even the final days of the Murray stewardship.

We will probably never know the full story behind Green’s purchasing of the assets and Ally’s decision to TUPE over to the new company. It appears some negotiating went on and what can't be denied is that our manager benefited from Green’s ascent to power in not just salary terms but in penny shares that can now be valued at around a quarter of a million pounds.

This is damning for many, because the perception among he fans, rightly or wrongly, is that Ally did a deal to back the Green regime and get behind the season-ticket sales that would prop it up in exchange for a slice of the pie.

Had Green been a prudent businessman out to secure our club, he would have immediately put Ally on a year's notice due to the impossible burden that his salary would prove for a Third Division club.

Green and his Big Yorkshire Hands *trademark

One can only assume it didn’t happen because Green needed a front-man to secure our season-ticket money. That is the reading of many fans anyway. Ally was used by a snake oil salesman of the very highest order but the relationship was also clearly financially mutually beneficial.

As the years rolled by it became clear the manager and board had become at odds. The biggest indication came when Ally’s salary was publicly and unnecessarily printed in the annual accounts.

When rolled out in front of the Press he made the astonishing claim that he didn’t even know what his salary was. A revealing deflection that was so ridiculous it shone a very poor light on Ally. He’s nobody’s fool and this notion is simply preposterous.

To his credit, McCoist realised this was all sitting quite uncomfortably with constant speculation about money problems and another potential administration. Agreeing a pay-cut until promotion to the Premiership was a smart PR move.

He would still pick up an eye-watering manager’s salary, the biggest in Scottish football, but he could be seen to do the right thing amongst a restless support.

Quite how long he was paid at a cut rate or by how much is up for debate.

In reference to press reports of a 50 per cent cut he stated: “The figures today are far nearer the mark and that’s where we are.

‘Nearer the mark’ doesn’t confirm or prove anything and is reminiscent of a slippery politician. Draw your own conclusions.

McCoist made these comments in October 2013 but confirmation of the salary decrease didn’t come until January 2014. So the facts as we know them show Ally took a pay cut from January 2014 to December 2014 when he left the club and his salary returned to the pre-cut rate. Over the course of the time he actually worked as manager, Ally was more than fully compensated by the club and he also received a hugely-generous share entitlement.

Ally’s chums in the game, of which there is an army, will point to his decision to go without pay during the administration and the pay cut as evidence that Ally had the club's best interests at heart.

They would have a lot more weight if Ally had done the right thing when Dave King’s takeover was sealed.

Already a rich man, McCoist should have walked away from his contract there and then. He would have cemented his place in Rangers folklore and proved the doubters wrong. Instead he stood behind the banner of legal rather than moral entitlement.

He could have been the greatest ever Ranger, but until he speaks out and declares the full story of his years in charge, warts and all, I doubt if he will ever be fully forgiven.

Ally McCoist had something money can’t buy within his grasp; immortality, but for me he cast it aside for a few thousand quid. He’s never been shy to proclaim his love for the club and tell the media how much it means to him but when it came to the crunch he wanted his money, his entitlement. Somebody should have told him something much more valuable was on the line.

If this ‘deal’ has been struck because McCoist is to be unveiled as a pundit for a TV channel it will have fans questioning the convenience of its timing. It feels like the spin from the prehistoric pre-social media era when the fans were quieter and less informed. It’s the dutiful pundits who innocently swallow this rubbish that I wonder about.

I grew up with Ally’s picture on my wall, he was a personal hero. Perhaps time, the great healer, will restore my faith in the man. I hope so, because a tainted hero is no hero at all.